In June 1972, the Santa Fe debuted the first two locomotives in the new Yellow Warbonnet paint scheme: SD45 5524 (painted in the shops at San Bernardino, CA) and U28CG 7904 (painted in Argentine Shops in Kansas City, KS). Designed to increase locomotive visibility at grade crossings, the scheme was quickly applied to older locomotives and, of course, all new power delivered from that point on. (I suspect the railroad also wanted to retain their iconic Warbonnet design, which was going to disappear thanks to the formation of Amtrak - but that is just a guess on my part.) Encountered on March 4, 1973, early repaint SD45 5515 was on the point of a train in Amarillo, Texas. These early Yellow Warbonnet engines differed from later units slightly - they had black trucks (instead of silver) and blue handrail stanchions (rather than yellow).
Not
just heritage schemes, not just commemorative schemes - this album is devoted to some of the world's most interesting paint schemes, past or present.
